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By Dave, January 16, 2008 8:33 pm

Actually sleet and drizzle now, and ground temp is high enough that nothing is gonna stick for long anyway. But we ‘have’ had snow today for the first time in several years. Started while Bill, Cat, and I were at the scene of the last pine to go down cutting and splitting and loading firewood. Got pine (boo hiss! but it does give btu’s. Just a lot of crap in the flue too), oak, wild cherry, and elm. Snow and sleet got to coming down to the point the wood was getting wet so we finished loading it and unloaded it under the portable garage out the back door. Already had one load I cut, split and loaded on the top of the hill this morning.

Arms are quite sore from splitting the two truck loads of wood. Am gonna cut this short and will try to catch things up tomorrow morning. Till then… 😎

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By Dave, January 15, 2008 8:42 pm

Was taking it easy again today as I said in yesterdays post, when close to noon there is a knock at the door. I answer and there is a guy from the water department who tells me that we has a leak. Wonderful says I. How much so far? Over 40,000 gallons says he. 😯 Shit! says I. Yea says he. We looked and see nothing but the last two times this has happened it has all gone underground so this makes 3 times. I shut the water off at the meter and he leaves. I get the shovel and dig the area out around the valve to the qhut and upon cutting it off there the meter stops turning. So it’s between the qhut and the drive and that’s only about 15 feet. No water inside the valve hole so must be in that area. I clear the crap away in the middle of the area and finally remember the place I patched back in May or June of last year that I was supposed to get a fitting and repair properly. You can guess where this is going, right? Yea, that connector had broken in the freeze last week but the patch I had put on it had kept it from doing more than spraying a bit, so we didn’t notice a drop in pressure. And there must be a hell of a sink hole right there cause the water was within 5 inches of the top of the hole but not overflowing anywhere, just soaking in, all 40,000 gallons. Went to Jacksonville to Warren Ace Hardware and got a connector and returned and put it on after cutting the old connector out. Tightened it up with pliers and tis done. Now to dread the bill… 😥

Tomorrow I got to cut wood. Think we are about a week from out but even standing dead wood needs to air dry a bit before trying to burn it. There is a 10 year dead oak on top of the hill that I can get a truck load out of that I need to finish cutting. Just so big at this point I have to cut through one side and then go around and cut the other. And then splitting it is a real pain at that size. Several standing dead I am gonna get soon. Just need a couple of truck loads for the next two or three weeks.

Still procrastinating about the heater move/mod. And have failed to produce a drawing as well as not built anything. Will try to get to the building supply and see what is available in ceramic flue liners. If they have tees I’m gonna start with two. Depending on the price. May be cheaper to build it all in brick.

Think I am gonna sit by the fire and read a bit and call it an early night. Firewood awaits in the am… 🙄 😉

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By Dave, January 14, 2008 7:09 pm

Whole lot of nothing going on today.

Up, fix coffee, check email and daily comics, cook breakfast, shower, sit and read, cook lunch, sit and read, take Cat to the dentist, sit in van and read till she gets out, come home after a quick stop at the store for her to get some sodas (yes, right after the trip to the dentist 🙄 ), load in some wood for the nights heat, sit and read and finish book, fix supper, sit down and check feeds and write this daily summery or whatever ya wanna call this, and thats pretty much the day.

Todays book was “In Spite of Thunder” by John Dickson Carr. Published in 1960, the copy I have is a first edition but sadly tis a library copy. Over all in good condition but with the usual stampings and torn out library card pockets. And it was quite a good read. It’s a Dr. Gideon Fell novel, a murder mystery set in Geneva and as usual with Carr the plot has several turns and twists.

Hope to be more active tomorrow. Arms and back are better today. May take another day off to recuperate then get back at it Wednesday. Got to get some more wood cut, split and in for the coming cold week and weekend. But that’s to worry about tomorrow. Now to find another book for the evening. 😉

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By Dave, January 14, 2008 11:47 am

Giz Banned For Life and Loving It: On Pranks and Civil Disobedience at CES

Well said and said well. I thought it (the prank) was funny when I first read about it and all the bs that has been coming down since has made me wonder which orifice the writers heads were inserted in. Give em hell Giz! 😆

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By Dave, January 14, 2008 11:33 am

Stainless Steel Mouse | thecontaminated.com

Talk about too much time on their hands. Beautiful job and all that but 8 months to make a mouse, right down to the bejeweled usb connector… 😯

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By Dave, January 14, 2008 11:27 am

Ford: Car owners are pirates if they distribute pictures of their own cars – Boing Boing

Just gotta love the corporate doublethink that some of these big companies practice. Another Monday morning display of major stupidity.

Come to think of it, I have a lot of Mr. Fords products rusting away in the field. I need to take pix, showing just how well their product ages (or doesn’t) and see if they will come after me for publishing them here on the blog. 😉

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By Dave, January 14, 2008 11:19 am

Filmmakers use DMCA to go after negative review – Boing Boing

Can’t make a decent movie? No, problem, just sue the critic… 👿

Now a LOT more folks know just how bad the movie is, and from the responses in comments there are a lot that will never go to see it because of this stupidity. Idiots…

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By Dave, January 13, 2008 9:19 pm

Truck is done and gone. Still needs some paint and undercoat but is road worthy and being driven. So far total out of pocket cost is $0. Lotta sweat and sore muscles as well as having donor trucks to keep the cost nill.

Tim’s F150 is next up. Water pump is leaking. Remove, clean, replace, refill, check for leaks. Pretty basic stuff. Just a lotta bolts and hope none are corroded too bad.

Looked at the 76 Honda this afternoon. May try to crank it off in the next day or so. Oil and coolant are both fine. Need to air the tires and find and install a battery, add fuel and see how it goes from there. Unless the fuel pump is frozen or the carb has problems I think it will crank. Seems like it had a valve that was sticking. See what a little marvels will do.

Another one up to be put back running is the 8? escort. Just got to see how much it is gonna take to put it back together. Lynx trans and front end parts should fit.

Need to crank the Lincoln off also. Way too many cars. Keep thinking about putting the engine and at least some of the running gear from under the Lincoln, under the 65 ford truck. Guess I need to get the tape measure out and see what it’s gonna take… 🙄 Nothing like a hot rod Lincoln… 😈 😎 🙄

More later…
Dave

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By Dave, January 13, 2008 11:11 am

Actually not down as in depressed but down as in the body needing some serious down time. Wish I was done with the truck so I didn’t have to get it together and go out and work on it. However I ain’t, and have got to, so… 🙁 Guess this is the total of my bit of blather for the morning. Gonna get one more cup of coffee and then go to it. 😕

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By Dave, January 13, 2008 10:58 am

Hearts from cadavers beat anew: study

Truly amazing! 😯

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By Dave, January 13, 2008 10:09 am

PlexNex: Today’s Lesson: Do Not F**k with the Negroponte Brothers

Interesting slant on OLPC and the Intel mess. It’ll be a hoot if they do manage to drag Gates and micro$loth into it. 😈

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By Dave, January 12, 2008 7:50 pm

Got the fender beat out and close to straight. Wheel well and headlight deck pulled back into place with the application of a 8 foot long, 7 inch diameter cedar pole, a logging chain, and a come-along. Replaced the broken chain with a newer section and some bolts and nuts. Put a rod through the headlight hole and attached the chain around it then hooked the come-along to the chain. Tied the far end of the log to a chain and the other end of the chain to the frame on the other side of the front of the truck. Other end of come-along to hook embedded in the end of the log. Ratched the come-along and picked the end of the log up to about 3 feet. Took hold and bounced it till most of the wrinkles pulled out. Moved the tie point to by the frame mount and did it again. Beat a bit more here and there and is close enough.

Beat on the fender to fit and bolted it back on. Hammering and bending as necessary. Took an hour and a half to get it back to close to right. Lotta beating going on and my arms and hands are telling me about it.

Was working on the air dam when Boat came to get the Pathfinder. Found a broken bushing clamp under the rear end of the thing. Located a suitable piece of steel and with liberal application of pliers (large 15″ slip joints) and hammers and the vice reshaped it to fit the bushing. Used the Bridgeport to drill the holes. Love it every time I use it, like using a piece of history. Found bolts and installed the clamp. It worked and we were both happy. 😎 He left.

I went back to work on the Toyota. Installed the headlight mount, headlight, and trim with running light. Bill installed the side marker light. I got the air dam mounted and shaped about like it used to be lo those many years ago. Got the replacement bumper beat out some and the blinker bolts cut out with the air chisel. Now to figure out how to replace the blinker housings or build 2 working ones out of the pieces of 4 we have. Think we need new sockets.

Still got to replace the inner fender skirt, undercoat the areas that the paint is peeled off and spray the bare metal on the outside of the finder with primer then white paint. Last bit is to install the grill which is off another truck in the yard. And it will be done. I hope.

Came in, ate, built a fire, started writing about another dull but at least somewhat productive day.

Sorry to hear about the computer death, Steve. Always painful even when expected but especially when upgrading.

Speaking of computers, the new under $200 machine from Walmart looks like a nice machine for basic internet uses according to a review at Groklaw. None in this area, yea I had to check. Need another machine for use at the YST and with the specs it will do just fine.

Time to hit the feeds and then read a bit before hitting the sack. Till the morrow.

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By Dave, January 12, 2008 10:30 am

Almost ready to go and start beating on the Toyota fender. Still got half a cup of coffee to finish and keep hoping this head ache will go elsewhere. Nothing I did last night (at least I don’t think it is 🙄 ) but more a sinus kinda thing. Been stopped up and sneezing all morning. Had to fire off the wood burner again last night due to the colder weather so that may have something to do with it.

Been looking at content management systems again. Drupal is looking better and better. Got a test installation up and just installed the e-commerce modules to try them out and it really looks good. Gonna have to spend a few days with it to get my head wrapped around all of it’s quirks but I’m thinking of using it at the Too Many Books site instead of WordPress since I am more interested in the ability to sell product than just blog about it and none of the e-commerce plugins that I have tried for WordPress have been even close to what I wanted. Time and ease of use/modification/data entry will tell.

Coffee is getting cold, fingers and arms are already sending little signals to the brain that they have had more than enough of this morning typing thing, and the Toyota awaits so will close this ramble for the nonce and get the arse in gear (first gear anyway… 🙄 ) and get at it. More later. 😎

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By Dave, January 11, 2008 6:58 pm

Slashdot | 12 Florida Schools Pass Anti-Evolution Resolutions

Yep, those kids will be ready to go to college and then into the work place and get them one of those high paying jobs asking “Do you want to super size that?”… IDIOTS!

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By Dave, January 11, 2008 6:40 pm

Started the day with a bad case of the wanna go back to beds. Decided I needed to get out and at least try to do something so went to the YST (yard sale trailer) and started moving stuff around.

Got down to the battery charger and took it down to Tim’s truck and started the battery charging. Got the Pathfinder and took it to the barn and got the drill and mega battery and took them back to the YST and put them on the regulated charger.

Took one of the 120 volt porta power packs and set it up to charge too. Got two of them so figure I’ll see how long they will power the lights in the camper for off grid use. They won’t power the fridge or the microwave but lights and a bit of charge for the laptops will be enough for most times we will be needing them. I hope.

Bungie ball –
Use them for tying or attaching tarps or whatever to frames or whatever. 😉

Cleared out more stuff at the YST and then went to the barn and started trying to collect tools into their respective boxes/areas and began cleaning out and up my mechanics roll around. And that took several hours. Still just in the process but there is a fair assortment of tools in some order in the roll around now and it’s where it can be moved in and out of the barn.

In the middle of all this Bill came in from feeding the cows and chickens for the neighbor and I suggested that he bring his truck down so we could start on it. He brought it to the barn and we removed the bumper, grill, and drivers fender, along with numerous stuff that just had to move to get to other things. Got the front headlight mount surface straightened, then got a log about 8 inches in diameter and some chain, a big logging hook, a come-along, and a piece of angle iron. Put the angle iron behind the front metal above the frame and ran the chain through a existing hole and around the angle and back out. Hooked the come-along to the ends and drove the big hook into one end of the log. Put the other end of the log against the front of the frame and the other end of the come-along to the hook. Started racheting the cable in. Started to lift the log so Bill stood on it at the hook end. I braced the side and continued tightening and broke a link in the chain. Will get another newer, better chain and go again tomorrow. Looks like it will take enough of the crumple out to let the tire turn without rubbing and allow the headlight mount to be aligned right without much shimming.

Twas about dark so Bill left and I cut the compressor off. Valve working fine btw. 😎 Then to Tims truck and put the charger on trickle for the night. Went to the YST and cut all the chargers off (porta power showing full charge! Will see how it holds it over night as those gell cells are old. ) and locked up there and came in to eat. Did that and started on this really boring description of my day… 🙄

Seems like I should have gotten more done but the travel time from one place to the other is significant. Here to the barn is only 200 feet or so if we go out the front but about 500 if we go out the back. From the barn to the YST is about 800. YST to here is about 600 if we go out the back here and in the back there. 😯 A few trips and you have walked a mile or more.

Guess I am gonna see what the feeds have brought and then read a bit and call it a night. More tomorrow… 😉

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By Dave, January 11, 2008 12:33 pm

Slashdot | National ID Cards Mandated in the US, If You’re Under 50

Well I ain’t planning on ever boarding another plane and I’m already over the big 5 0 so the DHS can kiss my arse! These folks are out of control and need to have a muzzle installed asap. 👿

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By Dave, January 11, 2008 11:52 am

The debate about the worth of podcasting (Scripting News)

There’s a mini-debate going on about whether podcasting is a success or worth it, or whatever, I’m not sure exactly what the issue is, but it’s framed this way –> if you can’t get advertisers to hitch a ride on your podcast then podcasting is not worth much if anything.

My phone doesn’t have a business model. Neither does my porch. I still like having a phone and a porch because they help me meet new people and communicate with people I know. Same with my blog and podcast.

As usual Dave W brings up some good points and makes me think about things in ways I haven’t before. I really like the phone and porch comparison. 😆 I too would like to make a few bucks off my blog, just to pay the overhead of the website and maybe pay for a bit of my internet access but this blog and The Nero Wolfe site are just hobby sites for me unlike Too Many Books which is gonna (some day, maybe) be a business blog (???) or e-commerce site or something somewhere between the two.

Gonna have to cognate on this a while. Time to get back on my head, coffee breaks over. 😉

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By Dave, January 11, 2008 9:56 am

Tux Untangled: A Gateway Distro That’s Easy to Use

If the current trend of folks bringing laptops to the games and logging onto the network/internet continues I may have to try this out. Would entail getting another computer to do the job but guess that’s the price of fame.

From the article looks like it would be nice to use even with just us online.

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By Dave, January 10, 2008 6:57 pm

Got up and fixed coffee and then breakfast this morning and we had finished by about 9 am. Took a shower and have been worthless since. Ended up back in bed by 11 and dozed fitfully till around 2. Not sure if I have a bug or if this is just one of my week as water, can’t do anything but sleep episodes. No other real symptoms so suspect the latter. Had been going all day for the last few so…

Got up and ate a bowl of leftover Jambalaya that I fixed the other night. Didn’t have the Johnsonville brats so used half a pound of ground sausage and about half a pound of summer sausage cut into 1/2 inch or less cubes. Quite tasty! Want to get some of the sausage they recommend and try it again.

Been sitting reading and checking the progress of the incoming storm via the computer since. Awaiting the tornado the weather radio says is heading this way presently. Don’t think it will come within many miles of us but rather safe than broken and battered so am in the qhut at the kitchen table instead of my comfie chair in the unfinished downstairs room.

Here’s hoping that the storm abates now that the sun has gone down and there isn’t any more damage.

Gonna post this just in case the cable goes out. Will try to post again later after things have calmed down. Till then… 😉

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By Dave, January 9, 2008 9:20 pm

Slashdot | Material Turns All Surfaces into Stereo

When all the worlds a speaker… 🙄